


Fictober 2020

by PortalPanda



Category: Tron (Movies), Tron - All Media Types, Tron: Uprising
Genre: Fictober, Fictober 2020, Gen, Some Humor, Some angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:48:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 12,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26766802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PortalPanda/pseuds/PortalPanda
Summary: My attempt to fill fictober prompts with Tron drabbles.
Relationships: Able & Beck (Tron), Able & Tron (Tron), Alan Bradley & Kevin Flynn, Beck & Tron (Tron), Beck (Tron)/Paige (Tron), Clu (Tron) & Tron, Lora Baines-Bradley/Alan Bradley, Tron/Yori (Tron)
Comments: 202
Kudos: 48





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 1 - "No, come back!"

“No, come back!”

Zed’s voice is lost to the rev of a lightcycle as Beck races away, a streak of blue light reflected on the rain soaked streets. 

Everything’s changed since the Occupation moved in, but Beck is more affected by these changes than the other mechanics. Once reliable and fiercely loyal, Beck is now MIA. Half the time  _ Able  _ doesn’t even know where he is. When he does bother to show up for work, Beck is sloppy and distracted. Paranoid. He freezes every time a recognizer flies overhead. He can’t seem to relax. Maybe his tension stems from exhaustion; he always looks like he hasn’t shut down for cycles.

The problem is that Zed notices all of these things, but he doesn’t know how to address them. He’s terrible with words. So instead of saying he wishes the world could go back to normal, he complains about the Renegade. Instead of telling Beck he misses him, that he wishes he would stay put so he doesn’t get himself  _ killed _ , Zed makes jabs about his constant absence. 

Another change is that Beck is flighty. All it takes is the sight of orange in the streets, or a conversation he doesn’t want to have, and he’ll leave. Like he has more important things to do. For all Zed knows, he does.

He watches as Beck disappears into the downcycle, far too close to curfew. Zed won’t see him again until next cycle. 

If he comes back at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. I guess this is a thing I'm doing.
> 
> As always, comments are greatly appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 2 - "That's the easy part."

Beck understands (better than Cyrus did), that being Tron is about more than just knowing how to fight. It’s about who you fight for-- the programs you protect. 

Later, Tron suspects, he’ll learn that it also means expecting betrayal from all sides. It means you can never let your guard down. It means that programs look up to you, whether you deserve it or not. Far too often, it means being unable to save those programs. 

Still, the fighting is what they tend to focus on. That’s the only aspect of Beck’s new role Tron can really prepare him for, so he puts the beta through his paces.

The simulations Tron throws at Beck are not  _ technically  _ impossible, but they might as well be at his current skill level. The Renegade is grossly outnumbered by enemy soldiers (Tron doesn’t often find himself in fair fights), and the fact that Beck refuses to derez even the  _ holograms  _ does not help his odds. That’s alright, though. Beck improves a little with every fight; he learns from every failure.

Being Tron means dealing with a lot of failure.

Tron refuses to coddle Beck. He knows that becoming friends with the Renegade is dangerous. (He will not forget what happened last time.)

But when Beck stays down for a micro too long after a particularly brutal defeat, Tron is compelled to make sure he’s alright.

“Users,” Beck hisses, then winces when he sees his mentor standing over him. “How do you fight like this?”

Tron pulls the beta to his feet, wearing a grim smile.

“That’s the easy part.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 3 - "You did this?"

Disapproval hums low in Able’s core, and Beck, who has faced near-deresolution on more than one occasion, hates that the sound is still enough to make him squirm. 

Though he once told Tron he was an ‘okay mechanic,’ the truth is that Beck can count the number of vehicles he  _ hasn’t  _ been able to fix in his runtime on one hand. 

That total has just increased.

Between Beck and Able stands something that may have once been a lightcycle. It flickers in and out of existence in sections; here a mutilated web of wireframe, there a wheel that’s nearly caved in, and (most abhorrent of all) the engine that now sticks halfway outside the bike.

“You did this?” Able asks. Only Beck knows he isn’t  _ actually  _ asking, he just wants to hear him admit to this act of blasphemy. 

“Uh,” Beck isn’t sure if it’s better to take full responsibility or tell the truth, having received lectures on both. “I may have had some help,” he admits.

(Turns out the Outlands aren’t the best place to train on lightcycles, what with the uneven ground, and sharp rocks, and snow. Or better yet-- the sharp rocks  _ hidden  _ by snow. One nano Beck was racing beside his mentor, asking for pointers, and the next his bike was  _ impaled  _ and he was face down in a snowbank. Once he finished laughing, Tron’s advice was as helpful as you’d imagine. “Avoid that.”)

Able gives a little  _ hmph,  _ radiating annoyance as he shakes his head at the floor.

“Thought I recognized his handiwork.”

Somehow Beck can’t imagine Tron crashing a lightcycle.

“Listen, Beck,” Able grips the beta’s shoulder tighter than necessary. “I can’t keep you from your little side job, and I don’t intend to. But no matter what  _ else  _ you are, you’ll always be a mechanic  _ first _ . I expect you to  _ act  _ like a mechanic first.”

Beck thinks of the code wrench he carries that belonged to Bodhi-- how it’s helped him in both jobs-- and nods.

He never brings Able another broken bike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to mention that this was influenced by a scene in Ultima-Thule's fic 'Spirit of the Renegade' which you should definitely go read if you haven't already.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 4 - "That never stopped you before."

Able is one of the few programs on the Grid who’s never been afraid of Tron _at all_. Maybe it’s because he was a friend of Yori’s; he still remembers a time when the two of them could say whatever they wanted to the monitor, and her smile was all it took for them to get away with it. 

“So betas are being derezzed in the streets now, and you’re still not going to lift a finger.”

But Yori isn’t here now, and energy may not be worth this.

“I’m sorry about your friend, Able,” Tron says slowly, glaring behind his helmet. “But Clu has an entire army, and there’s only one of _me_.”

“That didn’t stop you before.”

Tron’s circuits brighten with fury and grief, wasting energy he doesn’t have.

“Before _what?_ ”

“Take your pick.” Able gestures vaguely (there are that many tragedies to choose from), but his gaze flickers to the glass case that holds--

“Don’t.” Tron’s voice goes flat. No less angry, but softer. “You know as well as I do, I had help before. Soldiers and Users and--” He redirects that line of thought. “I can’t solve every problem on the Grid by myself, as much as I’d like to, and I don’t hear _you_ volunteering.”

“No, sir,” Able snorts. “Taking care of thirty betas is as heroic as I’m gonna get. But if you need help, go out and get some help.”

Tron thinks that this is a terrible place to come when he is _already_ in pain, as if he needs to be reminded of every loss and failure on top of it.

“I’ve already _tried_ that. _Remember?_ ”

“So _try again_ ,” Able snaps. “Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do? Protect the Grid? Not just when it’s easy, but _especially_ when it’s hard?” 

He doesn’t need to see Tron’s face to know he’s glaring at him with the intensity monitors usually reserve for malware-- blights they intend to derez.

“Don’t you look at me like that. I know you’re angry. I am too. So why don’t you find someone who’s as angry as you are and _do something_ about it?”

As if in answer to Able’s words, an explosion rocks the Grid. The fireball blooms into the sky behind a window in the wide space between them, breaking the darkness and staining the monitor’s circuits orange.

“Think you should check that out?” Able quips, but Tron is already moving; he spares the mechanic one last glare before slipping into the shadows.

Later, Able will wish he’d kept his mouth shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was influenced by EnglishLanguage's fic Legacy, which you should go read right now if you haven't already.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 5 - "Unacceptable, try again."

Beck usually takes Tron’s criticism fairly well. 

Sure, sometimes he’ll huff or roll his eyes, and the occasional snarky comment is to be expected (Tron is no better-- he doesn’t want to hear it), but all of these complaints are surface level. He listens even as he makes them. 

Beck is also less angry than Tron. (Though the monitor’s anger is practical; it keeps something far worse at bay.) He hasn’t had his patience tested the way Tron has, for as long as Tron has, and so his first reaction to criticism or inconvenience is to crack a joke. This game is still new to him-- he isn’t as exhausted by it. Yet.

What all of this means together is that no matter how difficult the simulation, no matter how blunt the reprimand, Beck’s backlash is minimal. Is he exasperated? Yes. Annoyed? Certainly. But angry? Hostile? Never.

Beck fails a simulation, miserably. Tron isn’t sure what’s come over him. The beta hasn’t made mistakes this basic since he first started training, and Tron doesn’t plan to let him leave until he gets this right. 

“Unacceptable,” he says. “Try again.”

Across the room, Beck looks at Tron with… intensity. It isn’t anger, exactly, but it’s close enough to set off a warning somewhere in the monitor’s code. Beck grips his wrist and looks at Tron like he knows something he shouldn’t-- and then the moment passes, and the emotion Tron can’t name is gone. Beck complies; he tries again.

He doesn’t want to find out what Tron will do if he fails.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 6 - "That was impressive."

Tron may say that the uprising is about more than acts of vandalism, but Beck is fond of explosions. 

In his defense (for this mission at least), he  _ has  _ tried a more subtle approach. Beck and Tron initially infected the occupation’s weapons with a virus that rendered them useless-- but that worked a little too well. Pavel had to bring the tanks to Able’s garage and threaten every program present with deresolution in order to repair them. And since Beck doesn’t want to undo his own handiwork, or put his friends at risk again (that’s the exact opposite of what he’s trying to do), he’s thought of a new plan.

The occupation can’t repair their vehicles if nothing’s  _ left  _ of them. 

Hence the explosion. 

Tron doesn’t love this plan the way Beck does, but once the Renegade argued the benefits of fewer recognizers roaming the skies (fewer programs rounded up on the streets for breaking curfew, fewer programs taken to the games), the older program gave his reluctant approval. As long as the beta was careful.

(“When am I not careful?” He’d asked. Tron hadn’t bothered to answer.)

The Renegade slips through the shadows in a warehouse near the sea. Dozens of recognizers tower over him, but aside from that, he’s alone. He ensured that no other programs were present before he planted the explosives. 

Two bombs per recognizer is probably overkill, but he wants _nothing_ to be salvageable. Beck checks for guards one last time before fleeing to the docks a good distance away.

He has the sense to shield his eyes before activating the detonator-- and he’s still blinded. Forget the recognizers-- the entire  _ building  _ is gone. He gets the feeling Tron won’t be too happy about that.

Beck exhales a little “Whoops,” but he’s grinning behind his helmet. Another victory for the uprising, and it was  _ too easy. _

“That was impressive.”

The Renegade tries not to jump at Paige’s voice in his ear, or the arm she pins behind his back. It’s easy enough to twist free of her grasp, though, and he continues to grin as he draws his disc.

“You like it?”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” she says, attempting to swipe his head from his body. “But Pavel is in charge of this warehouse, so it’s no skin off my nose. The General, though,” Their discs clash. Neither one of them breaks the spar. “I expect he’ll want you to pay for this.”

“Sorry.” Somehow Beck shrugs with one shoulder. “This job doesn’t pay much.”

Paige leans closer. Tries to drive his disc back into his chest.

“Maybe there’s something else you could do,” she suggests.

“Oh?”

Beck doesn’t let her get any closer, but he doesn’t push her away. Not yet.

“I wonder how you’d look in orange circuits.”

He can feel the heat from their discs; she’s too close.

“No can do.” Beck breaks the spar, pushing her back. “Orange clashes with my eyes.”

Her own orange circuits stand out against the sea behind her as she stops to catch her breath. That gives him an idea.

“You can swim, right?” He asks.

She frowns.

“What does that--” 

Her question devolves to a shriek as he shoves her over the side of the dock.

Beck pauses long enough to make sure she reaches a nearby ladder-- waits until she’s glaring up at him to offer a quick salute and rez a lightjet. 

He knows he shouldn’t, but he  _ laughs  _ as he shoots into the sky.

This was a success.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was a lot of fun. It's also my first time writing Paige, so hopefully she's in character lol.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 7 - "Yes I did, what about it?"

The similarities between Alan and Tron are subtle, and often present themselves at the most annoying times.

Flynn looks up from his desk to find Alan towering over him, standing with crossed arms and a frown that’s equal parts concerned and exasperated. A mirror image of Tron.

“Did you get any sleep at all last night?” He asks. Ever the protector. 

(But Tron is never so openly disapproving.)

“Yes I did,” Flynn tries to sound smug as he fights a yawn. “What about it?”

Alan looks at him, deadpan. “You fell asleep at the board meeting.”

“I wasn’t  _ asleep _ ,” Flynn insists. “I was resting my eyes.” 

“And your face. On the table. For an hour.”

And now Flynn isn’t smiling, but Alan is.

“ _ Alan _ .”

“ _ Flynn _ ,” he echoes, in the same childish tone. “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off and get some  _ rest _ ? I can take care of things here for awhile.”

Flynn looks a little more serious now, but he also looks unhappy.

“I am not a child, Alan.”

Alan blinks. 

“I didn’t say you were.”

“ _ Uh- _ “

“In this conversation,” he rushes. Flynn is being a little childish, though, which gives Alan the idea to hit him where it hurts. 

“Remember when you made fun of me for being a workaholic?” Alan asks.

Flynn snorts. “You’re  _ still _ a workaholic.” 

“Yeah.” Somehow Alan’s smile looks like Lora’s; like Flynn is about to be outsmarted. “And you’re worse than I am.”

A terrifying thought. 

Flynn freezes, staring into space for a moment before looking up at Alan, slowly. Something about his expression is surprisingly open.

“There are worse things I could turn into than you, Alan.” 

“Yeah?” There aren’t many times that Flynn has seen Alan thrown off guard, but this might be one of them.

“Just none I can think of off the top of my head.” Flynn grins, grabbing his coat and running out the door.

“You’d better run,” Alan shouts after him, but Flynn can hear the smile in his voice.

Later, Flynn is sprawled on the couch with Sam, listening to Star Trek reruns. The kid was thrilled he’d come home early, and Flynn is equally happy to spend time with his favorite pal. 

He’s trapped now; Sam is asleep on his chest. Flynn guesses that’s as good a reason to nap as any. He gives the kid another fond smile, ruffling his curls as he drifts off.

Maybe he should apologize to Alan later.

He should definitely thank him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to BismuthStation for the suggestion to write this one about Flynn!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 8 - "I'm not doing that again."

The words might be accusatory, but instead they’re quiet. When Tron turns to face Beck, the beta barely meets his eyes. 

“I know-- you were in pain. And you apologized. But I’m not doing that again,” he repeats, and now there might be a  _ touch  _ of accusation, but mostly Beck sounds hurt. Betrayed. “I signed up to fight the occupation. Not  _ you _ . We’re supposed to be on the same team, remember? You’re the one program I  _ shouldn’t  _ have to fight.”

Beck doesn’t regret the words, but he does expect some kind of backlash. After Dyson Tron has been on a rampage for cycles; he isn’t going to like Beck bringing this up after he’d finally begun to calm down.

The hand on Beck’s shoulder is surprisingly gentle.

“You’re right,” Tron says. There’s something like guilt in his eyes. “You should be able to trust me, Beck. I’m sorry that I broke your trust. I can’t promise that we’ll always agree on what’s best for the uprising, but in the future we’ll settle our differences… more diplomatically.” Tron gives a pained smile. “Clu was supposed to be the diplomat, if you can believe it.”

Beck can only shake his head. Laughing seems inappropriate. 

“I won’t have to fight you again?” He asks.

“No. Not like that.” Tron agrees.

“You’re not getting out of your training, though.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 9 - "Will you look at this?"

The old mechanic’s office is filled with junk, but the gridsuit catches Pavel’s eye.

“Will you look at  _ this _ ?” He whistles, placing grubby hands on glass.

He doesn't understand why the suit is in a protective case-- it’s not as if it’s worth anything. But more important than that, it’s designed for a female program with curves and lots of little circuits. If this suit belonged to someone, she probably had a pretty face to match, and  _ lots  _ of privileges. 

Not every program has light-lines like these.

Pavel smiles maliciously, and his reflection smiles back.

“I bet Commander Paige would look  _ ravishing  _ in something like this.” His hands trail across the case, feeling for an opening. “We’d have to change the color scheme, of course, but it would look better with orange circuits anyway. She would be so grateful, and it’s not like anyone’s using it now--”

Pavel finds the edge of the door at the same moment someone activates a disc behind him.

_ “Don’t. Touch that.” _

The mechanics look up from their work when Pavel shrieks. Nanos later he bursts out of Able’s office like he’s seen a ghost, screaming for the guards. The little weasel is in such hysterics that Beck has to strain to make out what he’s saying. 

There was something in that office. An intruder-- a program with no light-lines-- who put a disc to his throat. Tried to  _ derez  _ him.

Beck shares a look with his co-workers as the guards go in. (A program with no light-lines?) The soldiers return a nano later, shaking their heads.

“There’s no one there, sir,” one of them reports. “There’s a suit, though, that looks just like a program. Are you sure you didn’t just see that?”

Pavel’s face becomes so scrunched with rage, Beck wonders if his head might explode.

“GET BACK TO WORK!”

Later in the cycle, when things have calmed down, Beck pokes his head into Able’s office. For a nano he thinks he sees a shadow across a glass case, but when he looks again it’s gone. Everything is undisturbed in the soft blue light. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate the idea of Pavel being in that office with Yori's gridsuit.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 10 - "All I ever wanted."

Paige has picked a terrible time to join the uprising.

She could have derezzed Tesler at any point during the occupation of Argon, but instead she’s waited until Clu, Dyson and _Rinzler_ are just down the hall. Beck can’t complain too much, though; Tesler was going to drive a disc through his chest before Paige intervened.

He makes a _whirring_ sound as she slings his arm over her shoulders and hoists him to his feet. Beck is damaged and overheating, he can’t process straight, and Paige is trembling a little but _wow_ she’s strong. He grits his teeth against a wave of pain as they take a step forward.

“Why?” He asks. It’s not the kind of question a program who wants to stay rezzed _should_ ask his captor-turned-benefactor, but that doesn’t stop him. 

“Try to walk,” Paige instructs. “We can’t stay here.” 

_We_ . There’s a _we_ now. Could there be a worse time for there to be a we? 

“Paige--”

“Save your energy.”

Beck complies. He goes silent, continues to take halting steps, and tries to think of someplace they could run. The entire city is occupied now-- more than it ever was before. Clu’s brought an armada to Argon; there are soldiers on every street. Besides, if they run for the garage, they’ll lead the occupation there. That’s not an option. And the outlands used to be safe--

Beck’s vision flickers.

They’ve stopped moving. Paige is frozen. Something in front of them is wrong.

There’s a window overlooking Argon, with a clear view of the city burning beneath them. Everything is consumed by blue fire. It isn’t so different from the city’s usual glow; just a little more intense. The ship is so high up that the scene below them is silent. Beck can’t tell if there are programs in the streets or if they’re empty. For some reason he’s struck by the thought that there must be occupation soldiers down there too. Did Clu even bother to pull his own programs out of the city before destroying it? Or is everyone dispensable? 

_“No.”_

Beck thinks that Paige said that, but he isn’t sure. He thinks he might be in shock.

He slips from her grasp, and his position is too awkward for her to correct. She can only soften their impact as they slide to the ground.

They lean against the wall beneath the window, lean against each other. Try to breathe.

None of this is real. This can’t be happening. 

Paige is laughing. 

Folded in on herself, digging her palms into her eyes. She’s shaking with the least happy sound Beck has ever heard. She sobers a little when she meets his eyes, but still wears a sardonic smile.

“All I ever wanted was to change the Grid for the better,” she says. “When I was younger-- my friends were _murdered_ . _Senselessly_. I never wanted innocent programs to die like that again.” 

She closes her eyes, but she can still see the flames. She can still feel Beck beside her, trying not to derez.

“Look what I helped them do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might continue this one later, or reuse some of this scene. I wrote a lot more but realized there were some continuity errors, and it got to be too much for me to fix/ finish tonight.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 11 - "I told you so."

Tron is looking out over the outlands when Beck returns. He doesn’t turn when the beta enters the hideout; either Beck’s failure was that predictable, or Tron watched him drive here alone. Maybe he can tell that there’s only one set of footsteps. Regardless, Beck is not with Paige.

“Aren’t you going to say I told you so?” Beck asks. He means for there to be some bitterness behind the words, maybe a little snark, but instead there’s just-- sadness. He’s too sad to  _ joke _ , which makes him even more sad.

“I never told you not to pursue Paige,” Tron says. His voice is free of the smugness Beck expects, which leads the beta to gravitate closer. 

“But you did say that trying to turn her might be a lost cause.”

“You  _ tried _ , Beck,” Tron says, as if he actually accomplished anything. “That’s all you can do.” 

“She was  _ so close _ .” Beck bangs his fists on the window. “For a while there we were on the same team. I really thought she was going to come with me when they were chasing us, and then when I saved her from the games-- she hates me even  _ more _ , now.” 

“She might hate the Renegade, but she doesn’t hate  _ you _ .”

“I  _ am  _ the Renegade!”

“ _ She _ doesn’t know that,” Tron returns. His expression shifts to something sharper. “That’s  _ not  _ a suggestion, by the way.”

“I  _ know _ .” Beck snaps, and once that bit of anger is out disappointment rushes in to fill its place. “It doesn’t matter. She literally pushed me away. I get the feeling she won’t want to see ‘Beck’ anymore either.”

Tron doesn’t say anything. Beck tries to focus on the view instead of letting his thoughts wander, but the landscape is bleak; hardly uplifting. He’s never really noticed how lonely this place is before. Does being Tron mean being alone?

“Give her some time, Beck. She might come around.” 

Beck doesn’t even look up. Not for the first time, Tron wishes he was better at offering comfort. Maybe a different approach would be more efficient.

“I’ve told you about Yori,” Tron says.  _ That  _ gets the beta’s attention. Tron has only mentioned his counterpart once before, despite Beck’s multiple queries about the old system. “Did I tell you that our first interaction was an argument?” 

_ “What?” _

Tron attempts to look annoyed and doesn’t entirely succeed.

“I was instructed to run a security sweep of the sector she worked in, but she wouldn’t let me in. She kept going on and on about protecting her work, which I could understand, but I didn’t like being accused of snooping or stealing.” 

“What happened?” Beck asks.

“Our  _ Users  _ had to intervene. Neither one of us was very fond of the other after that.” Tron shakes his head, though he wears a soft smile. “She was  _ impossibly  _ stubborn. You couldn’t say anything to change her mind. Her beliefs were based on what she  _ saw _ . What she learned. When she saw that I was a monitor, that I protected other programs, she grew to trust me. And eventually I won her over.” Tron pauses. Gives his apprentice a  _ look,  _ though it isn’t unkind. Beck should’ve known this would turn into a lecture. 

“It’s good that you want to help Paige, Beck. But if she’s ever going to change sides, it’ll have to be her own idea. You can’t change her mind for her.”

Beck doesn’t like the sound of that anyways; it sounds too much like something Clu would do. He sighs.

“You’re probably right.” 

Maybe things will change, in the future. Maybe Paige isn’t a lost cause. He doesn’t plan to give up on her either way.

In the meantime, though, Beck is still sad, and Tron has never offered this much information about his past. Maybe he can use this to his advantage. 

“So, uh, how  _ specifically  _ did you win Yori over?”


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 12 - "Watch me."

“Beck,” Tron says, channeling every byte of patience he has, “you can’t blow up Clu’s statue  _ again _ .”

The beta grins, far too excited. 

“Watch me.” 

“ _ Beck _ .”

“It’s the exact same statue! In the exact same spot! They’re asking for it!” His light-lines brighten. “I can make the explosion even  _ bigger  _ this time.”

“ _ Beck, _ ” Tron now sounds more pleading than scolding. 

_ “How are you against this?” _ Beck scoffs, crossing his arms. “I know you don’t like Clu either.”

“That’s-- an understatement. But it’s beside the point.” Tron jabs a finger at him. “Blowing up that statue is redundant. You sent a message the first time, but this will just look like destruction for the sake of destruction. That isn’t what you want programs to think of you.”

“Except I’m not being mindlessly destructive,” Beck counters. “I’m not destroying the statue because it’s a statue, I’m destroying it because it’s a statue of  _ Clu _ . They can put up a statue of anyone else and I’ll leave it alone. But Clu and his soldiers aren’t welcome in this city, or anywhere else on the Grid, and they  _ shouldn’t  _ be celebrated.  _ Right? _ ” Tron recognizes the look Beck gives him as one of his own. The monitor sighs.

“Try not to blow yourself up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beck blowing up yet another statue of Clu was Lazarusii's idea.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 13 - "I missed this."

“It’s good to be back.” 

Flynn’s smile is almost giddy as he looks out over the Grid. It’s a strange, wonderful feeling, taking in a world you’ve made. On the other side of the screen he’s as powerless as anyone else, something he’s painfully aware of, but here things are bright and beautiful and _safe_ , because he made them that way. 

Though he hasn’t done it alone. 

Tron and Clu stand on either side of him, and Flynn grins at each of them, clapping the programs on the back. “I missed this.” 

Clu rolls his eyes, but both programs return Flynn’s smile.

“You’ve been gone for awhile,” Tron says. It might be a complaint if his tone wasn’t so warm-- or if Tron were capable of complaining. 

“I know,” Flynn says, apologetic. “Things on the other side have been… rough.”

Clu snorts.

“It hasn’t exactly been a picnic here, either.”

Tron shoots him a look, though his expression shifts to something softer when Flynn turns to face him. “We’re glad to have you back,” Tron nods.

“Of course.” Confusion flickers across Clu’s face, as if he hadn’t made that clear. “But we also have work to do.” With that the admin walks away, apparently expecting them to follow. 

Flynn snickers at the peeved expression on Tron’s face. After all the years they’ve been friends, he still insists that Flynn be treated with a respect that borders on reverence. He nudges the monitor, startling the glare off his face. 

“I don’t really sound like that, do I Tron?” Flynn jokes. Tron's smile doesn't reach his eyes.

“No. You don’t.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 14 - "You better leave now."

Able isn’t sure what to do now that he knows Beck’s secret.

He thinks he could have stopped it before it happened. Maybe if he had paid more attention after Bodhi was killed, maybe if Beck had talked to someone, things would never have gone this far. Able knows it’s too late to stop them now. 

It doesn’t help that Tron is involved. Able can’t blame the program directly, but it seems that wherever he goes, tragedy follows. It’s hard to think of him as a protector anymore. Tron couldn’t even protect  _ Yori _ , and that was before he was half derezzed. Now he’s throwing Beck into all kinds of danger in his place; he won’t be there to bail the beta out if things go wrong. And around Beck (and Tron), things tend to go wrong.

Able can’t talk either one of them out of it, though he knew it was a lost cause before he tried. Tron and Beck are similar enough, he’ll give them that-- stubborn to their root-code, they’d fixed him with the exact same look when he’d brought it up. 

Able has tried everything he can think of to keep the beta safe with no luck. 

He’ll have to settle for helping in smaller ways.

The mechanic paces between work stations on the garage floor, watching soldiers march through the streets beyond the entrance. He’s spent most of the cycle doing the same thing from his office, memorizing the patterns Tesler’s goons use to move through the city. He can’t keep Beck from going out there, but he can make sure the path he takes is safe.

[ _ The soldiers are gone. You better leave now _ ,] Able pings.

Beck jumps. He’s been staring at a bike instead of fixing it, lost in thought. Now shuts everything down, giving his boss a grateful smile as he rises to his feet. 

[ _ Thanks, Able. _ ]

The older program hums. Watches him go.

[ _ Sure. Just come back in one piece. _ ]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was tempted to write something more angsty for this one, but I don't think any of us need that right now lol.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 15 - "Not interested, thank you."

The Renegade is a thorn is Paige’s side, but he’s also a little more than that. 

The more time goes by, the more apparent it becomes that he isn’t actually trying to hurt her, even when they fight. (That’s one of the reasons she's almost certain he isn’t Tron. He isn’t angry enough, not violent enough. He doesn’t derez other programs.) That doesn’t mean he isn’t dangerous-- he’s still causing chaos across Argon-- but credit where credit is due, for every time he blows something up, he also makes sure she’s out of the blast radius. The Renegade saves her more often than he puts her in danger; but she knows why that is.

He’s trying to wear her down. 

“You could join me,” he offers, every time her team betrays her or leaves her behind, every time he stops her from falling to her death, or pulls her to safety from some disaster he caused. There’s always a nano where he doesn’t seem like the enemy, then-- when there’s a different warning somewhere in her core. He’s holding her hands or touching her back-- too close. His voice is low and warm, and some traitorous part of her thinks that staying in his arms isn’t a terrible idea.

Paige usually responds by shoving the Renegade back into whatever mess he pulled her out of, saying something along the lines of, “Not interested, thank you,” as she watches him fall. 

This doesn’t deter him, though, because he has no sense of self preservation. No matter how high the fall or how brutal the hit, the Renegade always comes back; still tries to help her. To turn her.

She’s not sure which one of them he’s going to get derezzed first.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 16 - "I never wanted anything else."

Sam has come to love the Grid in the short amount of time he’s been here. If it’s this incredible while Clu is ruining everything, it must have really been something in its heyday. He tries to imagine what the ISO cities looked like, or how much safer this place felt when Tron was still active. It’s strange to feel nostalgia for something he never knew, but a kind of sadness washes over Sam as he looks out at the city from the balcony of the hideout in the outlands. He needed some air after hearing how everything went wrong the night his dad didn’t come home. It’s hard to reconcile the violence he’s just heard about with the peaceful looking city in front of him.

His dad is somewhere behind him, unsure of what to say. That’s another oddity. Sam doesn’t remember him ever being so quiet. 

“I’m sorry it all fell apart,” Sam says, breaking the silence. “Everything you worked for...”

He doesn’t understand the guilt he feels, as if his dad resents him for not finding this place sooner and fixing things from the other side. Defeating Clu might be as simple as a few keystrokes out there, but Sam has a habit of leaping before he looks. And where does he get that from?

“Not everything,” Flynn says. The sound of his dad’s voice startles Sam, and there’s sadness in his voice, but not as much as there might be. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always cared about the Grid-- probably more than I should have. And I considered Tron and Clu my friends. None of them were ever just programs to me. But I wasn’t just building this world for them, either; I was doing it for you. For your future.” Flynn steps closer, places a hand on his son’s shoulder, and for a moment they share broken smiles. “That’s what I was working for, on both sides of the screen. I wanted to create an amazing world for you to grow up in. At  _ least  _ one.”

Sam shakes his head, even as some tiny part of him rejoices that his dad never wanted or chose to leave him behind. He  _ did  _ care. Maybe too much.

“But that wasn’t what  _ I _ wanted,” Sam says, and their smiles falter. “I just wanted you to be there in the real world. I wanted you to come back. I never wanted anything else.”

This time Flynn gets a proper hug.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 17 - "Give me a minute or an hour."

Flynn collapsed after diverting the beam of the solar sailer, and he would have fallen to the sea below if Tron hadn’t caught him. 

It looks as though the User has crashed. His light-lines are flickering, dangerously dim or too bright, and Tron can’t get him to reboot. Yori is a nano longer in joining her counterpart at the front of the sailer; she had to make sure that their path was stable before abandoning her station. Now she crouches next to Tron, and the two of them hover anxiously over the offline User. Yori can tell by her partner’s expression that he’s running a scan on Flynn, though his functions may be so different from theirs that the data it produces is useless. It’s still worth a try. 

In the meantime, something compels her to touch the User’s hand. She can feel his energy signature (which is somehow almost as familiar as Tron’s) at the contact, though his hands are absent of circuits like Tron’s. Yori doubts the User will feel it, but she transmits [ _ safe/comfort _ ] anyway. Tron watches all of this with a grave expression.

“Is he going to derez?” Yori asks, squeezing Flynn’s hand.

“ _ Do _ Users derez?” Under any other circumstances, the total cluelessness in Tron’s voice might be funny. “His energy cycling is unlike anything I’ve ever seen, but…” he gestures vaguely. All of this is foreign to them.

Yori frowns. If they don’t know how to help an injured User, they can at least attempt the same methods of comfort they would offer an injured program. 

“We can’t just leave him on the ground like this,” she says. Tron has watched Flynn intensely since he crashed, but for some reason he seems half afraid to touch the User. Now he gives Yori a blank look, and she fights the urge to smile (Tron is cute when he’s oblivious, but now is not the time), carefully lifting the User until his head rests on her lap. 

“Flynn,” she says softly, allowing her hands to linger on his shoulders. The User shifts, features scrunching with something like annoyance.

“Lora,” he mumbles, still offline. “Give me a minute. Or an hour.”

This time Yori does smirk at Tron, who looks even more baffled than before.

“I think he’s going to be fine.”


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 18 - "You don't see it?"

Let the record show that Beck is  _ trying  _ to stay on task, but his co-workers are distracting him. Zed and Mara are snickering about something, whispering a little too loudly, and after several micros of this Beck abandons his work to curb his curiosity. He’d hate to miss out on the fun.

“What are you guys doing?” Beck asks, joining them in front of Mara’s workstation. She grabs his hand and tugs him to the floor, so he’s sitting in their little cluster. There’s something mischievous about her smile, something almost conspiratorial, that brings Beck to copy it.

“We’re trying to figure out who the Renegade is,” she grins.

_ “What?” _

_ “Shh!” _ Zed snorts as Mara swats Beck’s shoulder. He’s not smiling anymore.

“It has to be someone from the garage, right?” Mara asks, gesturing at the other mechanics on the floor. “The cycle after he showed up that one soldier snatched a wrench out of your hand because she saw him use one. He has to be some kind of mechanic. And this is the only garage in Argon.”

“I guess it makes sense, when you put it like that,” Beck says weakly. She’d put that together pretty easily. To think, he’ll be outed by his own friends. If Tesler doesn’t kill him, Tron will. 

Zed nods towards where Able is standing on the other side of the garage. 

“I bet it’s Able,” he says.

Or maybe not.

“ _ Able? _ ” Mara scoffs.

“He used to tell us stories about Tron all the time when we were younger, remember? Plus no one keeps tabs on him, because he’s always telling  _ us  _ what to do. He disappears on ‘supply runs’ all the time. He could be doing anything! And no one would suspect it’s an older program like him.”

Mara shakes her head. The safest thing Beck can think to do is stay still; maybe they’ll forget he’s there.

“You don’t see it, Zed?” Mara asks, “It’s right in front of you!” 

Incidentally, Beck is sitting right in front of him. 

“It’s obviously Link!” 

_ “Link?!”  _ Zed and Beck balk in unison. The program stands somewhere behind Beck, vacuuming up junk code with an air of vapidness that makes Tron look cheerful.

“Yeah!” Mara grins. “He  _ seems  _ quiet and inconspicuous, but it’s all just an act. Remember how he accused Hopper of being the Renegade?”

“Yeah,” Zed frowns, “not exactly heroic behavior.”

“But smart if you’re the Renegade and you don’t want anyone else to figure it out.”

Beck can’t take this anymore. 

“Link is  _ not  _ the Renegade,” he says, a little more passionately than he means to. Which was a mistake, because now they’re looking at  _ him  _ the way they’ve been watching Able and Link.

“Oh yeah? What makes you so sure?” Mara asks, crossing her arms. 

“Maybe  _ Beck  _ is the Renegade,” Zeda accuses.

The two programs freeze as they exchange a look, and Beck thinks he might derez. This is the nano they’re finally going to put it together. They’re finally going to realize why he disappears all the time and where he goes. And are they going to be upset with him, will they be hurt, or will they-- … burst out laughing.

Mara doubles over, squeezing Zed’s arm for balance to keep from toppling sideways, but he isn’t doing much better. In fact, the two of them are laughing so hard that they’ve captured the attention of every other program in the garage. Beck gives a nervous laugh of his own as he feels the others watch him.

He’s almost  _ weak  _ from relief at Zed and Mara’s response, but somehow he’s still a little insulted.

“Good one, Zed,” Mara wheezes, swiping at her eyes.

Beck shakes his head, giving each of them a fond smile as they’re overwhelmed with another burst of giggles.

“Yeah. Hilarious.”


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 19 - "I can't do this anymore."

“It was your turn,” Lora says, not bothering to hide her amusement. Alan scrubs at his face instead of looking at her adorable half-smile.

“I thought  _ Roy  _ was keeping tabs on them.”

Roy shakes his head, which would be easier to see if he wasn’t spinning in his computer chair like a hyperactive five-year-old. 

“My shift ends at 6am, when you get up.”

Alan sighs. Next to him Lora stifles a laugh, leaning against his side as they watch the blur that is Roy.

Between the three of them they’ve been trying to keep tabs on Sam and Quorra, but it’s easier said than done. Quorra is curious about everything, and Sam has no impulse control. Their little trio has come to adore Quorra in the short time they’ve known her, and she seems like a good match for Sam, but the two of them are a magnet for trouble. Alan suggested it couldn’t hurt to keep an eye on them-- just to make sure they don’t end up in a ditch somewhere-- and it’s easy enough for someone with Roy’s skillset. The three of them take shifts throughout the day, trying to keep at least a general sense of where on earth the two of them have gone to. Right now, though, none of them has a clue where they are.

“Why would they go on a motorcycle ride at 6am?” Alan asks. “Sam hates getting up early. The kid used to sleep til noon every day.”

“But Quorra loves sunrises,” Lora says. “They’re probably just out for a drive, Alan.” And she doesn’t say it, but he hears the obligatory,  _ ‘You worry too much.’ _

Roy stops spinning with an abruptness that leaves him dizzy.

“I can’t do this anymore.”

“You can’t do what?” Alan frowns. 

“Sam’s almost 30, Alan. They’re adults. They can take care of themselves. And besides,” He looks his friend up and down. Alan is usually very put together, but right now he looks… disheveled. Lora’s not much better; he obviously dragged her along on his little panicked spiral. “There’s no way this is healthy.”

Alan huffs.

“Forgive me if I don’t take health advice from someone who never sleeps.”

“I sleep,” Roy says, canting his head. “I’m just nocturnal.”

Lora shakes her head at both of them.

“Roy is right, Alan.” He’s not sure why he feels scolded even as she wraps an arm around him. “We shouldn’t try to keep track of them all the time. We can’t.”

“I just don’t want them to disappear,” Alan murmurs. Lora squeezes his hand. “Sam gets into enough trouble by himself. Now there’s  _ two  _ of them.”

“I think she’s good for him,” Lora smiles. It’s not fair; Alan wants to copy her smiles instinctively. “Think about it. Since Quorra showed up he’s finally taken an interest in the company-- outside of hacking it. He’s less isolated. When was the last time you saw Sam as happy as he’s been these past few weeks?” 

The three of them share a Look; the kind that means they’re thinking about Kevin Flynn.

“I don’t think you need to worry about him falling off the face of the earth anymore,” Lora says softly.

“Nope.” Roy taps one of the monitors on the desk behind him. “He’s right here.”

Sure enough, Sam is walking through the front doors of the ENCOM building with Quorra at his side. His arm is around her, and both of them are smiling.

“Coming into work early,” Alan says dumbly. He feels Lora laugh more than he hears it.

“Those Flynns,” she says. “Always full of surprises.”


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 20 - "Did I ask?"

Tron used to have more patience. Back when he was able to spend more time with Yori and Flynn, when the problems faced by this system were still the sort of thing he was designed to handle, it was easier to take Clu’s criticism in stride. Now, though, Tron literally doesn’t have the energy to spare. Every time he turns around, a new sector of the Grid is under attack. The Isos are under threat from gridbugs and Basics alike, and Flynn has been absent for cycles. Meanwhile Clu sits in a tower and whines about everything without offering solutions or  _ help _ . This cycle Tron has asked him for information, but instead of answering his questions all the SysAdmin will do is complain about the Isos. Tron can only take so much of this before he snaps, light-lines flaring.

“Did I ask?” 

Clu looks almost comically insulted.

“ _ Excuse _ me?” 

“About the Isos,” Tron adds, with a deadly sort of calm. “I asked about the gridbugs.”

“The Isos are causing the gridbugs.”

“We don’t know that, Clu.  _ Flynn  _ doesn’t know that.” 

“We don’t need Flynn to tell us everything, Tron. We’re not mindless.”

“Which is why we shouldn’t jump to conclusions without solid evidence.” He holds up a hand, silencing Clu before he can counter. “I’m not having this argument again. But I will remind you, in case you’ve forgotten, that  _ I  _ am the System Monitor.” Clu tries not to shrink under Tron’s glare as the program looms over him. He’s making it hard to forget. “It isn’t your job to decide what’s a threat to the system, it’s  _ mine _ . If I find anything that proves the Isos are dangerous, I’ll let you know-- I’ll take care of it  _ myself _ . But until then I’d appreciate it if you did your own job and let me do mine, as Flynn intended.  _ Alright _ ?” 

On the receiving end of Tron’s ire, Clu can only offer a wane smile, holding his hands up in mock-surrender.

“Of course.”

The Monitor looks at him for a micro longer before he turns to leave. Tron doesn’t seem to sense the way Clu’s eyes narrow as he watches him go. 

The problem with Tron’s little speech is that he isn’t half as good at identifying threats as he thinks he is. Clu will teach him that soon enough.

That part about Tron taking care of the Isos himself, though… that’s not a bad idea.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 21 - "This, this makes it all worth it."

Perfection isn’t easy, and it isn’t painless. Sometimes you have to break things in order to fix them. This is what Clu tells himself to reason away the chaos that ensues after he takes control of the Grid. 

It may sound crude, but there are too many programs on the system. The more Isos appear the more the Grid tears itself apart; collapsing in on itself or spawning gridbugs to eradicate the Isos like the virus they are. Flynn and Tron don’t see it because they don’t  _ want  _ to. They argue that there’s room for everyone, but there aren’t enough resources, and the Basics were here  _ first _ . So Clu makes the hard choice-- he’s the real protector. 

Not enough programs see him that way, at first. And why would they, when Flynn has corrupted them with stories of Tron? They have romanticized ideals about standing up to forces of control, for the Users, even if they stand alone. They think that one program is all it takes to free a system. They don’t understand that Clu  _ is  _ that program. Sure, Tron fights for the Users, but Clu fights for the Basics. They should be on his side, but (illogically) many of them choose the Isos instead. It’s an unfortunate reality, though it isn’t totally unexpected. Clu has a plan for that, too. Practically every program on the Grid adores Tron. If he can turn the Monitor to his side, there will be far less resistance from anyone else. 

Tron never does make anything easy. Outdated program that he is, he chooses to die rather than join Clu. And Clu doesn’t mean to kill him the first time, but he has no problem killing him a thousand times after that. These other programs want to be like Tron? They can join him. Derezzing other Basics doesn’t bother him. There is only room on this system for the programs who will obey his orders to keep things running. He hunts the Isos to near extinction. They and their cohorts lose their little war. Anyone who questions Clu’s leadership or challenges his ways gets sent to the games. And for every one of those User-loving, Iso-sympathizing programs who dies, a little piece of Tron dies with them. Slowly but surely, Clu is eradicating the Monitor’s influence from his system.

One by one he takes every city on the Grid. As each one falls to his control, more programs join his forces, and fewer of them are willing to challenge his rule. For one glorious nano, things are calm. He has total control-- perfection is so close he can almost reach out and touch it.

Until it’s blown to bits in Argon, by a program in Tron’s light-lines.

Clu tells himself it isn’t Tron, and yet he can’t help but remember those stories he’s tried so hard to erase. All it takes is one program to overthrow an army. One program can destroy a perfect system.  _ That  _ program already has.

Rebellion spreads through Argon like Tron’s name. It starts with one Renegade, and then there’s another. Countless programs join them; challenging Clu’s soldiers in the streets; defacing the city with lies.

Tron lives.

It starts as a lie.

Things actually start to look up after that. 

Tron is alive, but he’s also desperate and broken. Once again he’s faced with a choice: join Clu or die. This time, whether he realizes it or not, he chooses to join Clu. 

Tron’s repurposing is a work of art; perfection. It works too slowly for the Monitor to detect until it’s too late. By then he’s made more plans, more allies, and he spills them all to Clu,  _ willingly _ . Just like he kills his apprentice all on his own. Just like he reports to the Luminary without so much as an order. 

Rinzler and Clu watch Argon burn together. This is what happens to programs who stand up to Clu. This is what happens to those who dare to speak Tron’s name. The rest of the Grid will learn from this.

The destruction doesn’t make Clu happy, but it’s necessary. Order from chaos. Though it may be costly, this is still a victory. Clu smiles as he turns away from the flames.

“This,” he says, taking Rinzler by the shoulders, “This makes it all worth it.”

Rinzler purrs.

There’s never another rebellion on the Grid. Tron is dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a little carried away with this one.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 22 - "And neither should you."

Beck has another near miss with deresolution. He usually returns from missions a little battered, but this time the injury is near his core, and deep enough it’s a wonder he didn’t derez. The mechanic is lucky he has some sturdy code; a lot of other programs wouldn’t have survived that kind of hit. 

For his part, Beck is unfazed by pretty much the entire situation except for Tron’s panic. Seeing the Monitor filled with such genuine concern is both endearing and off putting. You know things are bad if Tron doesn’t bother to hide how bad they are. 

Using the healing chamber is also an interesting experience. Beck does his best to stand still despite the disorienting effect of the energy. It’s a little like being underwater. The energy pushes and pulls, both biting and refreshingly cold as it heals his code. Beck can’t exactly see outside the tank (especially since his eyes are shut), but he knows that Tron is nearby, watching. The role reversal isn’t lost on either one of them.

Beck sways a little when he steps out of the tank, but Tron is there to catch his arm and lead him to a nearby chair. He must still be worried; his movements are stiff.

“It’s fine. I’m good,” Beck says, grinning even as he holds his head in his hands. He’s a little dizzy, but he’s still in one piece. He bats Tron’s hand on his shoulder away, giving a half-hearted glare when he feels the Monitor run a scan. “Honestly, you’re worse than Able.”

Tron makes a sound that might be insulted, but he doesn’t argue.

“I’m really fine,” Beck assures him, and then he’s back on his feet, light-lines glowing like he’s overcharged. “How about some more training? I don’t want to go home yet.”

Hyper Beck is certainly preferable to injured Beck, but Tron doesn’t really have the energy to deal with either. If he were better at this he would make sure Beck was really alright (as if he would admit it if he wasn’t), or maybe get him to acknowledge how seriously he’d been hurt. Instead he watches as the beta all but runs to a nearby control panel, altering the settings for one of the training sims. Tron can’t remember what it’s like to think he’s indestructible, but something tells him he used to be the same way. That thought gives his the motivation he needs to actually talk to his apprentice.

“Beck,” Tron says, and he hates how tired he sounds. “The healing chamber helps you generate new code, but it still takes time to integrate with the rest of your frame. You shouldn’t push yourself while you’re hurt.”

“And neither should you,” Beck says, surprisingly serious. There’s something almost scrutinous about his gaze, but his voice is soft. “I can tell it’s worse today.”

Tron all but scowls. It doesn’t matter if it hurts, the scars haven’t spread yet and he has work to do. 

“I’m  _ fine _ .”

“Really?” Beck tilts his head. “You’re not moving or talking much for someone who feels fine.”

Tron looks more like he wants to murder something than he usually does, but he doesn’t do anything to prove Beck wrong. The beta feels a little guilty. Maybe that stubbornness isn’t something Tron can help-- maybe it’s part of his code. It probably wouldn’t be smart for a Monitor to admit if they’re vulnerable or in pain.

Beck tries a different approach.

“It can’t hurt you to get some rest either way,” he says. Tron’s gaze follows him as he stretches (okay, yeah, that does still hurt), then plops back down on the chair he’d risen from a micro before. “You said it yourself, I can’t train. Maybe we can both take a break. No judgement. Right?”

This is so clearly a trap, but Tron is too tired to find a way out of it. Arguing with Beck will only lead to him getting hurt further, and he’s not entirely wrong. There’s not much for Tron to do if Beck is taking the rest of the cycle off. Besides-- the beta has already dropped into sleep mode. It’s not like he’s watching. 

Tron sighs as he looks at the healing chamber.

“...Right.”


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 23 - "Do we have to?"

If Beck’s sass gets him killed then he’ll die doing what he loves, but he’d still rather derez as the Renegade than plain old Beck the mechanic. 

It was bad enough when he and his co-workers were forced to fix Occupation weapons (most of which Beck broke in the first place). Now that Pavel is in charge of the garage, they’re not allowed to work on any repairs for civilians until every army vehicle in the building is fixed. He announces this with the same pleasantness he uses whenever he speaks-- by screaming at everyone around him.

“You’ll do as I command, or  _ else! _ ”

Beck leans closer to Mara, who doesn’t look any happier about this than he is.

“Do we have to?” He whispers.

Apparently Pavel has freakishly good hearing, because he rounds on Beck as if he’s personally insulted Clu.

“What was that,  _ mechanic _ ?”

Beck folds his hands behind his back, definitely not reaching for his disc. 

“Nothing.”

“Nothing,  _ what _ ?” Pavel growls, further invading his space. 

Beck debates whether it’d be worse to get murdered by this oversized gridbug or be forced to show him respect.

“Nothing... sir,” he says. After everything else he’s survived, being derezzed by Pavel would be a pretty pathetic way to die. (Beck can do better; maybe Paige will kill him.)

“That’s what I  _ thought  _ you said,” the Commander sniffs, and then he’s heading back to Able’s office.

Beck scowls as soon as Pavel’s back is turned, but some of his anger fades when he feels Mara’s hand on his shoulder. 

Beck might be powerless, but the Renegade is going to punch Pavel extra hard the next time he sees him.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 24 - “Are you kidding me?”
> 
> So, spoilers, but I’m borrowing/ putting my own twist on Changelog by saratogaroad, where Tron ends up with Flynn in the outlands and Beck becomes Rinzler. Please go read the original. It’s beautiful and it hurts.

Tron thinks that Beck and Sam Flynn would have gotten along well, which isn’t necessarily a good thing. 

Sam is glad to see his father, but he’s also irreverent. Tron may have led Quorra out of the room when the two Users started arguing, but the hideout wasn’t big enough to escape what they were saying. Sam thinks he knows better than Flynn. He wants to act, wants to run from Clu or take him on together. He’s filled with energy and anger and sass. After Flynn and Quorra retire for the night, he can only direct those things at Tron.

The Monitor is minding his own business, lost in thought as he sits on the balcony and looks out at the city in the distance. His thoughts shatter as Sam Flynn scoffs.

“Are you kidding me?” he asks, plopping down next to Tron. “He got to you, too?” 

Tron isn’t sure how to respond to that. No one has addressed him so casually in a very long time. Part of him is amused, but he knows that anything he says can be misconstrued. It’s unwise to interfere in an argument between two Users. Maybe if he says nothing, Sam Flynn will go away. 

The User gives him a look that’s just softer than a glare, though it’s more miserable than angry.

“Isn’t it your job to protect the system? That’s all I ever heard about as a kid.”

Well. There’s no way Tron can’t respond to that.

“My directive is to fight for the Users,” he says, summoning [ _ patience _ ]. “I can’t free the Grid by myself, Sam Flynn, but I can keep you and your father safe. I can keep things from getting worse than they already are.” 

No matter what else Tron may want to do, that has to be enough.

“When was the last time you were out there?” Sam asks, jabbing a thumb towards the city. “Because I wasn’t there for long, but it seems to me like things are getting worse by the minute. I don’t see how you can just sit back and do nothing. That’s bad enough coming from dad, but from  _ you _ ?”

“He’s right,” Tron says quietly. 

Sam Flynn looks as distressed as Tron feels. “How can you  _ say  _ that?”

“Because I followed your line of thinking once, and it failed.” 

His gaze is too intense for Sam to hold for long. Tron has such sad eyes, and it doesn’t help that they’re Alan’s.

“I used to be angry with Flynn because he ran instead of fighting,” the Monitor admits, staring at his hands. “I thought that if he wouldn’t save the Grid, I would. I started a rebellion without him, in one of the smaller cities where Clu might not notice until it was too late. It worked, at first. I trained a program to fight beside me. He recruited more programs to join us; inspired others to rebel. Clu nearly lost control of Argon. We hoped that if programs realized he couldn’t control one little city, the rest of the Grid might rebel.”

It’s obvious that this story doesn’t have a happy ending, but Sam is still afraid to ask,

“What happened?”

Tron’s hands curl into fists.

“Clu happened. He came to Argon himself. And Beck, my apprentice, was too much like  _ you _ .” Sam knows the look Tron gives him all too well; the look of someone who’s grieving and wishes they could be angry instead. “He knew we were close to victory. He was so eager to fight, to fix everything on his own, he thought that he could end it all if he took on Clu himself.”

Thunder rolls somewhere in the distance. Sam shudders.

“I take it that didn’t end well,” he says quietly.

“Not for Beck, or for Argon. But for Clu? He created his best weapon that day.” Tron shakes his head. “If you’ve met Rinzler,” (he doesn’t miss the way Sam freezes) “you’ll understand why I’ve stopped fighting.” 

Sam feels small as Tron stands to leave. Somehow the program seems to belong there in the shadows. 

“Flynn only wants to keep you safe, Sam. He’s making the right choice. 

“Believe me.”


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 25 - "Sometimes you can even see."

Now that the MCP is gone, it’s much easier to give Flynn a proper tour of the ENCOM system. Tron and Yori are happy to show the User around, and he marvels at everything in sight.

“This is incredible!” 

The programs laugh as he gushes over what’s basically empty space. The ground is curved with hills and covered in rows of light-lines, but aside from a nice view it’s devoid of pretty much anything. The User scuffs at a pink light-line with his foot, and smiles as it shifts to a warmer shade of orange.

“Sometimes you can even see how things look on the other side of the screen.”

Tron feels Yori perk up from where she’s nestled under his arm.

“What do you mean?”

Her gaze flickers from Flynn to her counterpart for a nano, giving Tron a teasing smile. She can tell he doesn’t like it when she questions Flynn (especially about the Outside World), but her function is to figure out how things work. She can’t help her curiosity, and information she learns from Flynn might help her to better serve her own User.

“Well,” Flynn says, suddenly uncertain, “I’m guessing, if I’m honest. But everything here was coded by users, right? On the other side, code doesn’t look like this. It looks more like letters and numbers, symbols, and it’s written in lines with little gaps in between. I wonder if the light-lines here are the system’s way of filling in those gaps. Letting energy flow between the lines.”

“Fascinating,” Tron breathes. Yori leans her head against his shoulder.

[See?]

“Do programs look the same way?” She bites back a squeak as Tron nudges her side, tickling a line of circuits. 

“Pretty much,” Flynn says, oblivious to their antics. “I mean, we users put a lot of time and effort into writing you guys, and it’s certainly complicated work, but I think I’m pretty much the only one who knows you’re  _ this  _ complex. You’re a lot like us.”

The programs sober at that.

“Will you tell others?” Tron asks quietly.

[Now who’s asking inappropriate questions?] Yori pings, but he knows she’s just as curious as he is.

Flynn looks a little like a program caught in the beam of a recognizer.

“That’s-- I’m not sure they’d believe me,” he admits. He rushes on when the programs in front of him look disappointed--  _ hurt _ . “I guess it couldn’t hurt to try, though. Alan and Lora would love this place,” he assures them, and he finds himself smiling. “It’d be fun to see them out of their element for once. They’re too smart for their own good, the both of them. You just have to promise me you won’t blow a fuse if I bring Alan in, alright Tron?” 

Flynn is only joking, but the shocked look on Tron’s face is enough to make him and Yori laugh. He knows what he’s gonna do when he gets home.


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 26 - "How about you trust me for once?"

“Flynn, why don’t you just tell me what’s wrong?” 

The exasperation in Lora’s voice is meant to make him slow down, but instead he grins, and tugs her towards the laser bay even faster. Alan is behind them, trying to keep up.

”How about you trust me for once?” Flynn’s smile only brightens when Lora gives him a Look. “I can’t tell you what’s wrong because I’m not smart enough to understand how any of this works, alright? But something looked funny when I was in here the other night, and it’ll be easier if I just show you.” 

Flynn is excited for another midnight adventure at Encom. Alan is not.

“It feels like we shouldn’t be in here after hours,” he says, ever the goody two shoes. It is sort of weird being here when everything is empty, but Flynn managed to convince them that this mystery problem was urgent, and something they needed to deal with on their own. Hence the late night visit.

“I’m the boss, Alan,” Flynn says, in what might be the most nonchalant tone anyone has ever used to say those words. “I have the keys.” 

Lora shakes her head at both of them, tugging her sleeve free of Flynn’s grasp as they stop in front of her terminal.

“Alright. What did you want to show me?”

“Okay,” Flynn bends over the keyboard, pulling up a command prompt, then points at the screen. “See that?”

“See  _ what _ ?” Lora asks. The laser is asking for the same prompt it always does. She frowns. “Flynn— is this some kind of joke?”

“Wh— I can’t  _ believe _ you don’t— Alan, come look at this!” 

He waves Alan over, and soon all three of them are crowded around the monitor. 

“See, watch,” Flynn says, “When I do this—“

Behind them the laser hums to life as he presses ‘y.’

“Wait—“

“What are you—“

Getting zapped into the system is still disorienting no matter how many times Flynn goes through it. At least he knows what to expect, though. On either side of him his companions are still stunned from the transfer; they clutch at his arms for support, and his are still wrapped around them from when he blocked their escape route. Flynn notes this with amusement, along with the fact that their circuits are nearly identical to Tron and Yori’s, and their  _ faces— _ they weren’t this shocked when they found out he was CEO of the company. It’s pretty satisfying to render such brilliant minds speechless. Flynn grins. 

“Pretty cool, right?” 

Unfortunately, his hold on them also renders  _ him _ unable to escape once they snap back to the present. 

“WHAT DID YOU DO?!”


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 27 - "Give me that."

Beck is staring at the lightcycle in front of him instead of actually trying to fix it, but at least he’s present physically, if not mentally. Mara is torn between being glad he’s actually here and annoyed that he isn’t helping. Beck is the best mechanic among them, but she’ll take the title for herself if he isn’t going to earn it.

She smiles a sneaky smile, inching closer to snatch the codewrench from his hand. (It’s not like he’s using it.) 

“Give me that,” she says, all teasing exasperation, but when she reaches towards him Beck’s hand clamps around her wrist like a vice. They lock eyes for a nano, and Mara isn’t sure which one of them looks more horrified. He lets her go, but not before she gives a distressed yelp, causing Zed to rush over.

“What are you doing?!” He snaps. Beck recoils, still mortified.

“I’m sorry-- I didn’t mean-- it’s just a reflex!” 

“Calm down, Zed. I just startled him.” He gives a little  _ hmph  _ before returning to his own workstation. Beck keeps his distance even after he’s gone, like he’s afraid to get near her. Mara fights the urge to roll her eyes; he’s acting like a skittish bit.

“It’s alright, Beck,” she says. He relaxes a little at her I- _guess_ -I-can-forgive-you voice, then freezes again when she picks the codewrench up off the floor. “Guess next time I’ll _ask_.” 


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 28 - "Do I have to do everything here?"

Clu has been waiting for Flynn to return for cycles so they can get back to work-- and the first thing the User does on returning to the Grid is run off to the colosseum with Tron. 

Both of them were smiling like betas, talking excitedly about the games. Flynn tried to talk Clu into joining them (“C’mon! With the two of us against Tron, we might have a fighting chance”), but he declined. Someone has to take care of the Grid, even if his comrades are off playing games.

Clu watches from above as they race towards the arena. It looks like they’re competing to see who can get there faster, and Flynn is already losing. 

The Admin sighs, returning to his plans.

“Do I have to do everything here?”


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 29 - "Back up!"

Ram has almost drifted into sleep mode when there’s a commotion outside the cell block. 

“Back up!” one of the guards snaps, and Ram can hear the fear in the program’s voice even beneath the distortion of their helmet. Then there’s another sound, the sharp electric hiss of a light staff being used on some unfortunate program, right before Tron is shoved back into the next cell over. 

“Welcome back,” Ram greets. Somehow he sounds relieved and concerned at the same time. “You alright?”

“Fine,” Tron grunts, but he doesn’t face Ram, and one hand clutches his side like it hurts. Ram’s core twists with sympathy.

“Why do you let them do that?”

“ _ Let _ them?” Tron snaps. Ram shakes his head.

“You’re a better fighter than ten of those goons combined. ‘Seems like it wouldn’t be hard for you to escape from  _ two  _ of them. They know it, too-- that’s why they’re so afraid of you.”

“It isn’t that simple,” Tron says, and his light-lines dim a little. “Sark has Yori. If I cause any trouble…” He trails off.

Yori is Tron’s counterpart, who he speaks of fondly and often. The security program is quiet, reserved, and Ram suspects that most of the time he spends staring into the middle distance is occupied by thoughts of her.

“I don’t want her to get hurt because of me,” Tron says quietly. Ram hates to see him look so downcast.

“I’m sure she’s alright,” Ram assures him. Tron looks up as the actuary program smiles. “If she’s anything like you, she can handle herself.”

“That’s true,” he almost laughs. Tron sits up straighter, rolling his shoulders back. “We won’t be here much longer anyway. My User wants to destroy the MCP. Once he realizes I’ve been detained, he’ll send help. I’m sure he’ll find a way to free us. We just have to survive until then.”

His smile is determined. Ram tries to copy it, but ends up yawning halfway through. He leans against the wall of his cell, attempting to enter sleep mode for a second time.

“I’ll do my best.”


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 30 - "Just say it."

“Just say it,” Tron says, crossing his arms, and Clu tries very hard to suppress a smile. He knows it’s not wise to bait a System Monitor, but sometimes he’s too much like Flynn for his own good.

“Weren’t you… taller?” He asks. His voice wavers a little as he tries not to laugh. Tron shakes his head.

“Flynn made an adjustment to my height.” He stands a little straighter, as if that will make up for the inches he’s lost. “Do you have a problem with that?”

“Not at all,” Clu grins, enjoying himself far too much. “I like it.”

More specifically, he likes that Tron now has to look  _ up  _ at him. The Monitor doesn’t seem as fazed by this as he might be. 

“Good,” he smiles, but the light in his eyes could bite. “Because this modification in no way affects my fighting capabilities. In case that was a concern.”

Clu hums. Maybe Tron is still a little intimidating. 

He wonders if he can convince Flynn to make him any smaller.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somewhere there’s a post about how Tron is shorter in Legacy than any of the other media, along with someone’s theory that Flynn got tired of Alan being taller (and being annoying about it) and took it out on Tron, and I couldn’t resist.


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 31 - "I trust you."

Sam grew up thinking of Tron as some larger than life hero, but the program looks small as he stands alone on the portal platform. 

Alan and Sam are preparing to return to their own world, and both are being eaten with guilt at the thought of leaving Tron here alone. Most of the Grid did not survive reintegration. As far as they can tell, he’s the only program left. 

Sam tries to imagine what it would feel like to be the sole survivor of a world-- to haunt the place like a ghost, not knowing if anyone will ever come back. The ridiculous time difference between the Grid and the Analog world doesn’t help that at all.

There’s no sign of the unease they feel in Tron’s expression, but they feel the need to reassure him regardless. 

“We’ll be back soon,” Sam says. “As soon as we can.”

Tron gives a slight nod, looking from the younger Flynn to his own User. Alan looks a little like a parent leaving their child on the first day of school.

“Until then, we’ll check in from the outside,” he promises. “You can contact us whenever you want, and we’ll respond right away.”

Neither Users have known Tron for long (not like this), but his smile feels like a rare and beautiful thing to witness. It’s warm-- almost amused, and something else.

He knows the Users don’t understand. They can’t understand what he’s been through, or what it’s like to come back from it. But Tron’s code is repaired, his mind is clear, and his light-lines are blue.

“I know,” he says, and they hear,  _ ‘You can go. I’ll be okay.’ _ Even more startling than that though, is, “I trust you.”

The Users are shaken by his certainty, but they smile back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who read these, and special thanks to everyone who commented and reached out to offer support on days when I had to take a break. I love our little fandom so much. You guys are the best. <3


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